1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an end effector for a robotic system that certifies magnetic disks.
2. Description of Related Art
The magnetic disks of hard disk drives are typically tested in an apparatus commonly referred to as a disk certifier. The disk certifier has a spindle motor which spins a magnetic disk while a recording head writes and reads data from the disk. The disks are typically loaded onto the certifier by a robotic arm assembly which pulls a magnetic disk out of a disk tray and places the disk onto the spindle motor. When the certification process is completed the robotic assembly transfers the disk from the spindle motor back to a tray.
Disk certification stations typically contain a number of certifiers located about a single robotic arm assembly. The robotic assembly includes an end effector which has a pair of disk paddles that can transfer disks between the trays and the various certifiers.
When a disk certification system is installed the robotic arm assembly must be "taught" the movement between the certifiers and the disk trays. It has been found that the disk paddles of the robotic arm may become damaged during the installation of the system. The damaged paddle must be replaced with a new part. Installation of a new paddle may result in a different paddle location relative to the remaining portion of the end effector and robotic arm. The new paddle position necessitates a "reteaching" of the robotic arm. The reteaching process requires time and may result in damage to the system. It would therefore be desirable to provide an apparatus and method for aligning an end effector to accurately locate the disk paddles of the end effector.